Bronzeville’s most storied YMCA is getting ready for another act, as The Renaissance Collaborative ramps up a long-planned restoration of the Wabash Avenue YMCA’s recreational wing and opens the doors this Saturday for a community storytelling session. The timing is no accident. The nonprofit has a new executive director, longtime neighborhood resident Oji Eggleston, and the project is shifting from visioning into the nuts and bolts of hiring contractors.
Community Gathering, Oral Histories And Public Input
According to The Renaissance Collaborative, Saturday’s free, come-and-go event runs from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the former Wabash YMCA. Inside, neighbors will find oral history recording rooms, archival photographs and space to talk through how the building should serve Bronzeville in the years ahead. Organizers say the session is built to center local memory, from stories of the building’s role during the Great Migration to fresh ideas for youth programs and a history-informed curriculum.
Federal Funding And The Mural Restoration
Work on the recreation wing picked up speed after The Renaissance Collaborative landed a $436,375 federal preservation grant to restore the gym, pool and an 87 year old mural by William Edouard Scott, according to Block Club Chicago. The money comes from the Historic Preservation Fund, administered by the National Park Service, and is specifically earmarked for conserving the building’s public art and its core athletic spaces, not just slapping on a coat of paint.
Contracting And The Work Ahead
Per The Renaissance Collaborative, pre bid meetings took place in December and bids were due in mid December 2025, with procurement materials that stress the need for firms experienced in historic preservation. The organization says most residential units in the building are expected to stay occupied while the recreation wing is under construction, although some common areas will be temporarily closed while crews are on site.
New Leadership As The Project Scales Up
Oji Eggleston, a longtime Bronzeville resident who recently joined CBS News Chicago to talk through the plans, has stepped in as executive director just as the rehabilitation work enters this more intense phase. Local advocates and organizers say his deep neighborhood ties are meant to help balance two tricky goals at once, protecting a landmark while still managing day to day supportive housing operations in the middle of a construction zone.
Why The Wabash Y Matters
The Wabash Avenue YMCA is widely documented as the place where Carter G. Woodson organized what became Negro History Week, the precursor to Black History Month, and the building still houses a collection of civic memory artifacts and public art, according to WTTW. Preservation advocates say the push to restore the gym and pool is about more than sprucing up old tile, it is about reviving the programs and social infrastructure that anchored youth and community life on the South Side for generations.
What Comes Next For Bronzeville
Organizers say the first wave of work will concentrate on the recreational spaces and public history programming, with longer range residential upgrades tied to federal affordability programs coming later. Earlier reporting indicates those phases could unfold over several months while apartments remain occupied, according to the Chicago Sun-Times. For now, the community gathering this Saturday and The Renaissance Collaborative’s ongoing procurement steps signal that Bronzeville’s landmark is moving out of the planning binder and into active repair and programming under new leadership.
